A different side of Pop

LOS ANGELES — When Manu Ginobili arrived in San Antonio in 2002 for his first training camp, he encountered a coach who would challenge his idea of playing basketball in the free-flowing manner that had made him the Most Valuable Player of the Italian League.

The creativity that made Ginobili the toast of Italy — bounce passes from half court, passes between the legs of a defender, forays to the rim against multiple defenders — tested the patience of a coach who had won an NBA title by pounding the ball inside to David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

“I don’t call them crazy plays,” Popovich says of the plays that once made him roll his eyes and wonder what sort of player the Spurs had imported from Argentina, via Italy. “They are unusual and coach-testing at times.”

Now, the NBA’s longest-tenured coach has learned to relax and enjoy the show. Popovich will coach Ginobili and the Western Conference All-Stars on Sunday, a reward for leading the Spurs to the best record so far this season.

“Over time,” Popovich says, “if one has half a brain you see the success that Manu brings to a club and you learn to shut your mouth and let him play.”

Adaptation has been on ongoing theme of Popovich’s 15-year career as Spurs head coach, and the changes he brought to the 2010-11 edition of the silver and black has been something of a metamorphosis.

With Duncan, now 34 and in his 13th season, Popovich has the Spurs running more and initiating offense from the perimeter.

Once famous for relishing a roster he called “older than dirt,” he starts a 21-year-old at center, brings a 24-year-old combination guard off his bench and utilizes a rookie in his regular rotation.

Popovich may be as stubborn as ever, but he is no fool.

“He has changed a lot,” says Ginobili, “but coaches have to adapt, because players develop, you get some new ones, you lose some others, and you’ve got to find a strategy to get the best out of your players.”

Ginobili arrived one year after a 19-year-old Frenchman was drafted and became the team’s starting point guard in his first season.

Tony Parker had to learn to adapt his free-flowing game, too.

Then, Parker and Ginobili yielded to Popovich’s demands. Today, Popovich has made them the focal points of his offense.

“You can talk to Tony or me,” Ginobili said. “In 2002-03, we were a different team. We just threw the ball inside, spaced out and tried to play off TD (Tim Duncan). Then we started shifting to Tony, and then I started gaining confidence and I got my time, too.”

With the addition of Richard Jefferson in 2009 and Gary Neal, a 26-year-old rookie, this season, Popovich has adapted the Spurs’ offense even more.

“Now we are a multi-dimensional team,” Ginobili said. “He became more flexible with me, of course, and the new guys, too. He allows a few more mistakes than my first season, or my first few seasons, for that matter.

“It got a little rough at times. Imagine what it was in 2002. He’s probably not the most flexible coach in the league, but compared to eight years ago, he has changed.”

Mike Budenholzer has been on Popovich’s coaching staff longer than any of his assistants. He has seen the changes from the inside.

“It’s hard to put into words, but I think just that concept of adapting is one of his greatest attributes,” he said. “Those early teams were so good defensively and so inside-out. We just pounded the ball inside and pounded and pounded.

“I think we ran a little bit more than people gave us credit for in those days, but the perception wasn’t totally off, and if you look at the team playing now and the pace we’re playing at and the pick-and-roll and the ball movement, it’s a totally different team and game and style.”

Some things about Popovich never change, and the Spurs revel in his selective rigidity.

“Just his competitive spirit is the No. 1 constant,” Budenholzer said. “I’ve always said that’s what makes him special. He’s the most competitive person I’ve ever been around.”

The changes Popovich has made this season have the Spurs on top of the NBA standings, with the best record in franchise history after 56 games, 46-10.

One change, though, was an admission that adaptation, on occasion, can be counterproductive.

Last season Popovich joined a popular movement among NBA teams and began scheduling practices in the afternoon. Rearranging the schedule so players would have plenty of time to get the rest required to endure the rigors of the season made perfect sense.

“He was just trying to stay with the new age, stay ahead of the curve and trying to take as many advantages as possible,” said Duncan, the Spurs captain.

Then, the Spurs struggled to their worst record of the 21st century, a still-respectable 50-32, and by season’s end, practice times had begun creeping back into tried-and-true patterns.

This season, it was back to the old ways.

“I don’t think it was very popular,” Duncan said. “I don’t think it helped in any way. I don’t think anybody liked it.”

Often, admitting a mistake can be the greatest adjustment.

“He’s not perfect and we’re not perfect,” Budenholzer said, “but I think he’s done a hell of a job in adjusting.”